Kyrie Irving getting traded by the Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night brought the NBA world to a frenzy as everyone, from players to fans to media, tried to wrap their heads around what just went down. Irving moves to a loaded Boston team, while the Cavs land Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Brooklyn’s 2018 unprotected first round pick, which is, essentially, LeBron James insurance should the King leave next summer.
The trade sent shockwaves around the league, particularly in the East where, depending on Thomas’ health, a shift of power has begun this season or, at the least, it appears the Celtics will become top dogs in 2018-19. However, it also had a significant impact on the virtual basketball world, as Irving, donning his Cavaliers’ gear, is set to be on the cover of NBA 2K18 when it releases on September 19 (with a September 15 pre-sale release).
Now, this has become a bit awkward, and 2K knows it.
https://twitter.com/NBA2K/status/900141690119258112
I honestly can’t remember a cover athlete on a major video game being traded prior to the game’s release, so I don’t really know how 2K proceeds here. All of the promotional materials for the game at stores have Irving on them in Cavs gear and depending on where they are in the process of printing covers and physical copies of the game a change might not be feasible.
The in game fix is easy for 2K, as they will flip the rosters to adjust for the trade. When gamers pick up their copies and fire up the game Irving will be in Celtics green, he just might still be in his Cavaliers’ threads on the front cover.
